I Pray the Father...

"I pray the Father, and He will give you another Helper, that he may abide with you forever...the Spirit of Truth, whom the world cannot receive, because it neither sees Him nor knows Him; but you know Him, for He dwells with you and will be in you."

John 14:16

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I pray the Father....

Perhaps the most important thing I learned after becoming a mother was how my son does not belong to me. I suppose I even knew that from the time he was in the womb. I knew this because of how the Lord worked in his little life even before he was born.

Sound corny?

I suppose it could seem corny from the outside looking in, but because the Lord laid it on my heart that my child does not belong to me so early on, it made it easier to lift him up in prayer because I knew he belonged to the Lord.

After reading, The Power of a Praying Wife, I picked up today's book, The Power of a Praying Parent.

The Power of Prayer

I began to pray over my son when he was little. I started using Stormie Omartian's book of prayers because I was new at this motherhood thing and truly didn't know where to start. Nathan was about 9 when I began reading the book.

The one thing I love about this book is that you pray God's word over your children. I visualize it as bathing them in His word. 

There is such a comfort that comes with that.

As with her other book, Omartian is specific in her list of prayers. 

You pray for:

Their friends

Their talents

Their acceptance

Their faith

Their eternal future

Their walk

Their vocation

Their future spouse

That their honor their parents and resist rebellion

Their safety and security

That they hunger for the things of God

That they follow truth

Healthy living

Desire to learn

Knowing repentance

Prayer and a Sound Mind

But perhaps the most powerful prayer I prayed was over my son's room. I took my Bible into my son's room one day when he was at school. I sat on his bed and prayed. I asked the Lord to reveal anything in his room that might cause him trouble, fear, or rebellion. 

I remember feeling such a peace knowing that the Lord was in that room with me. 

God's gift to us when we pray is a sound mind . Now that he is older, I pray for our son every morning. I pull out Omartian's book and pray God's word over my son.

He is seventeen now, but it doesn't matter how old your children are. They will always need prayer.

Giving Them to God

As our children grow older, we begin to release that control and become mentors or counselors to them. Our role changes, but our prayers do not. I still pray he feels loved and accepted. I still pray that he walks in repentance. I will always pray that he hungers for the things of God.

And we will release him to God someday when he leaves our home. We know he will face hard times. 

It is our job to provide him with the strategies to face the hard times when he is on his own or when he is a husband and father. We want him to remember to pray first and foremost when a decision needs to be made. We want him to know instinctively to turn to God. We want him to have that sound mind throughout his life knowing that the Lord is there with him in his room. 

I highly recommend this book for all parents. Yet I even recommend it for those who are not yet parents, but who long to be. Start praying for your children today. Demonstrate to the Lord that you are willing to give them over to Him even before He has formed them. 

There is no greater place for them to be but in the hands of a merciful and loving God.

There is no greater peace for a parent than when they lift their children up to the Lord. 

Blessings,

Ruth